Tagged Questions

The city of Shechem was given to Yosef by Yaakov (Bereshis 48:22) yet when the Jewish people entered Israel Yehoshua designated the city as a city of refuge (Yehoshua 20:7). Why was this done? Doesn't ...

In parshas Vayechi 47 29 Yaakov Avinu tells Yosef to place his hand by his thigh. We find this expression used by Avraham Avinu in Chayei Sarah 24 2 with an explenation by Rashi that an object used ...

I am trying to understand a comment written in the Stone Edition Chuash (page 288) on Bereishit 50:23. On the statement that Yosef was alive to have his great-great grandchildren through Ephraim on ...

Rashi on Breishit 50:16 comments on the beginning of the verse "Our father commanded.." that Ya'akov made no such command, but the brothers said this because of peace and that Yosef was not suspect in ...

In Devarim 21:16 - 17 it states that the father cannot favor the son of the beloved wife over the older son of a hated wife.
If we assume the notion that our forefathers performed all the mitzvot of ...

The midrash records that Esav tried to stop Yaakov from being buried in the cave of machpelah. I would like to know if any commentators explain why Esav would care about this? I recall hearing that he ...

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In Bereshis 47:29 Yaakov asks Yosef to "put his hand under his thigh" (a euphemism) and swear not to bury him in Egypt. Here, unlike by Avraham, there is no indication that ...

The story of Avraham buying the cave of Machpelah is principly mentioned in Parshat Chayei Sarah Bereshit 23:3-20.
If so, why does the Torah stress again and again that Avraham bought the cave from ...

I've been reading about details of Torah sofrut, and after learning about the paragraph markers peh / פ (petucha) and samekh / ס (setuma), I noticed some similarly placed shin markers (mostly at the ...

Why does Yakov ask the malach (angel) (actually it sounds more like a statement of fact - "he will...") who protected him from evil to bless Ephraim and Menashe? Also, do we find that this actually ...

Yaakov saw (Beraishis 48 (19)) that Efraim would be greater than Menashe and so insisted that his right hand should rest on Efraim. Did the placing of the hand bring about the greatness and if not why ...